The primary vocation of the people of Jaffna, fishing, is also in a confusing state. The traditional fishermen are finding it a tough proposition to survive on fishing. Most of the sea sides and beaches are under control of the Army. The government needs to make a huge investment in the northern province. Incidentally, the flow of foreign investment has not been sufficient to boost economic activities. Sri Lanka is very fortunate that both India and China have shown a very keen interest in integrating its economic development to their respective economic development plans for the region. [ Full Report ]

A new project for rain water harvesting has been initiated in the Jaffna Peninsula as a solution to the severe shortage of water. Accordingly, it has been planned to save 20 percent of the rain water in an area of 78 square kilometers around the Vadamarachchi lagoon. The project has got the approval of the Chief Minister of Northern province as well as the cabinet and is being headed by a retired Secretary of the Irrigation Ministry and a retired Director of the Irrigation Department Vidyajothi Eng. A.D. S. Gunawardena. [ Full Report ]

Sri Lanka’s Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran has said the Tamil minority community’s demand for a federal solution to meet their political aspirations was not aimed at dividing the country. “You [the South] think we [Tamils] are all terrorists. We do not want to divide this country. When we ask for federalism we are being accused of trying to divide the country,” Mr. Wigneswaran said. He said the Tamils want their distinct identity recognised by the majority Sinhalese. [ Full Report ]

It is hard to miss the scars left by three decades of civil war. For years, the LTTE (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, known internationally as the Tamil Tigers) fought for an independent state until their defeat in 2009. Houses are riddled with bullet holes. Once beautiful colonial buildings are missing roofs and are burnt out. But between the ruins, life has returned in its glory. “It’s still difficult for us. Sri Lanka tourism does not really promote the northern provinces, so we don’t get that many visitors,” says Jeevitha, the villa’s proprietor. Tourists are missing out, not just on warm hospitality, but also great food. The local cuisine has a distinct southern Indian influence, and plenty of seafood due to the vicinity of the sea. [ Full Report ]

Northern Province Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran said yesterday that there was no possibility of them supporting the draft 20th Amendment to the Constitution outright. The Chief Minister expressed these views at a meeting held at the Provincial Council Complex in Kaithady, Jaffna. He said that the government was attempting to take over the powers of the Provincial Councils and hand it over to Parliament by the Constitutional Amendments and therefore the people and the legislators of the province should be consulted when drafting the document. [ Full Report ]

Scorched by a 10-month drought that has killed crops and reduced residents to buying trucked-in water, Adigama’s young people are voting with their feet. At least 150 youth have left this agricultural village 170 km northwest of Sri Lanka’s capital since the drought began, looking for jobs in the country’s cities, or overseas, village officials say. Few are expected to come back, even when the rains end. “If they get the lowest paying job overseas, or in a garment factory, they will not return,” said Sisira Kumara, the main government administrative officer in the village of 416 families. [ Full Report ]

The number of those affected by the drought has risen to 1.66 million. The Disaster Management Centre has said the District of Kurunegala remains the worst affected, with over 163,000 people suffering the consequences of the drought. Close to 139,000 have been affected by the drought in the district of Puttalam. Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar, areas in the Northern Province and Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara in the Eastern Province are also facing the challenges of the drought. [ Full Report ]

Deputy Chief of Mission of US Embassy in Colomb Robert Hilton inaugurated a newly refurbished building at the Jaffna Hindu Ladies’ College on July31that that will support reconciliation and stabilization and provide girls in Jaffna with opportunity to study in a modern facility. Coordinating closely with the Sri Lanka Ministry of Education and the Northern Province Ministry of Education, the U.S. government invested 91 million rupees to build the three-story addition that will reach an additional 180 students. Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V. Wigneswaran joined DCM Hilton and the principal of the College, Ms. M. Vimalanathan, in lighting the traditional oil lamp and cutting the ribbon on the new facilities. [ Full Report ]

Security will be beefed up in SriLanka's Tamil-dominated Jaffna city after the assassination attempt on a high court judge and the death of three security personnel, a senior police official said on Monday. "We have to adopt different strategies now to ensure security of the people and the police, Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundera told reporters. He was responding to queries on two incidents, murder of a policeman, who was a protection officer of Tamil judge M Illancheliyan last week and the killing of two policemen over the weekend. [ Full Report ]

The International Movement of Tamil Culture (Sri Lanka chapter) in association with the University of Jaffna will be holding a two-day special conference on ‘Challenges and Initiatives of Tamil Language and Culture’ at the University premises on August 5 and 6. Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Malathi Rajavelu, IMTC India Chapter and Panch. Ramalingam, Reader in the UGC- Human Resource development Centre, Pondicherry University and chairman of the conference said that as many as 48 delegates from Puducherry and various parts of the country will take part in the deliberations at the conference. Eminent scholars and Parliamentarians from Canada, U.S., France, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Japan, Sri Lanka, Kuwait and Singapore will participate in the conference. [ Full Report ]

“This is not a racial issue, this is what you call humanity. Racism has destroyed our humanity for so long. In my case, it is true that I am a Tamil Judge, but Hemachandra protected me not only in peacetime but also during the war. We were not thinking in terms of Tamil or Sinhala here,” he said. “For the first time in the history of Jaffna, banners have gone up for a man in Khakki uniform,” said Judge Illancheliyan. When asked if this what ‘true reconciliation’ looked like? The judge was quick to respond, “I don’t know about that, I don’t know about the politics of that.” [ Full Report ]

Throughout the decades of violence, women in the war-ravaged north and east have had pivotal roles, as fighters with the LTTE, activists for peace and justice, victims and survivors of atrocities and now as household heads who are trying to hold both their families and their damaged communities together. Conflict-affected women have spearheaded the demand for justice during and after the war and remain at forefront of protests in Tamil areas. The government says it is committed to addressing their demands, but its failure to do so has already stoked women’s anger and could encourage the growth of less accommodating and more conservative forms of Tamil nationalism. [ Full Report ]

The motive behind shooting at the Policemen providing security to Jaffna High Court Judge Manikkavasagar Ilanchezian is not clear yet. One of the Policemen injured in the incident, a Sergeant died later at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, while many people were attempting to interpret the incident in a manner that suits their political agendas. Meanwhile, the Police Spokesman SSP Ruwan Gunasekara is being taken to task by the loyalists of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Tamil leaders in the north and even by the High Court Judge himself for his remark that the assassin had not targeted the judge. [ Full Report ]

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) issuing a press statement on Saturday, strongly condemned the attack on Jaffna High Court Judge Manickavasagar Illanchelliyan.“We urge the Inspector General of Police to bring the perpetrators of this incident to justice and to investigate the conspiracies behind this incident. While we strongly condemn these kinds of violent attacks on the administration of justice, we are gravely concerned that the incidents of crime in the Jaffna Peninsula have reached serious levels,” TNA Spokesman and Jaffna District MP M.A. Sumanthiran said. [ Full Report ]

A senior police officer in Sri Lanka was arrested today for allegedly aiding and abetting a man accused of raping and killing a girl from the minority Tamil community in the northern province, officials said. Deputy Inspector General of Police Lalith Jayasinghe, who was the in-charge of the Jaffna division, landed in the police net for helping the accused flee the police custody, police's Crime Investigation Department (CID) said. The rape and murder of 18-year-old student Sivaloganathan Vithya in Jaffna in 2015 had triggered widespread public anger and protests with people demonstrating to bring the accused to justice. Protesters had accused the police of shielding the accused in the Tamil-dominated northern province. In June, a trial was initiated against the accused. [ Full Report ]

More than nine hundred thousand civilians are affected by the drought condition that currently prevails in the Northern parts of the country, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said today. DMC Deputy Director K.A.D.P.K. Kodippili responding to Daily News said the year prolonged drought condition has affected areas including Puttalam, Monaragala, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Northern Province and some parts of Kurunegala and Kandy.After conducting preliminary assessments regarding the condition, the DMC has spent Rs. 40 million to provide clean drinking water to people in affected areas. Kodippili also said that the DMC has provided 6000 water tanks and 200 water bowsers to the program. [ Full Report ]

A Tamil parliamentarian on Thursday challenged a proposed housing project of steel maker ArcelorMittal in the Supreme Court, questioning both its suitability for the post-war region and the government’s tendering process.From the time the government roped in Indian-born billionaire Lakshmi Mittal’s company to build 65,000 houses in the Tamil-majority north and east, the project evoked sharp resistance. Engineering experts in Sri Lanka studied the proposed prefabricated housing model and said it was severely flawed in its design, compared to traditional brick-and-mortar homes that they recommended. They also deemed prefab homes unsuitable for the hot and humid climatic conditions in the north and east. [ Full Report ]

In a gesture of goodwill, literary associations from Tamil Nadu have gifted a consignment of 16,000 books to the Jaffna Public Library in Sri Lanka, two weeks ago. How to build your Canadian credit history ROYAL BANK OF CANADA 61% of direct mail recipients buy in-store Canada Post Recommended By Colombia Consul general of India in Jaffna, A Natarajan said the Jaffna Public Library was considered to be one of the best libraries in South Asia. This library is a symbol of traditional culture and education of that region. He said the library is considered as a treasure house of knowledge and holds an important role in the history of Jaffna. This library, which was started in 1933 by individuals, was established in its own building in 1959. [ Full Report ]

Consul General of India in Jaffna A. Natarajan was visiting the Chief Incumbent monk of Nagadeepa vihara in Naiyinaa-theevu, Navadagala Paduma Kiththi Tissa Thero on Wednesday. The CGI visiting the Sinhala-Buddhist monk at Nayinaatheevu, who is treated by the occupying Sinhala Navy as a commander as standing above the executive SL President, is sending wrong signals to Eezham Tamils and the people of Tamil Nadu State in India, commented Tamil political activists in Jaffna. The extremist monk who doesn't adhere to the civic rule or the provincial council in North has recently recommenced the controversial construction of 67-feet Buddha statue. The visit also comes after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the island on International Vesak Day two months ago. [ Full Report ]

Two Police Officers have been arrested today in connection with the shooting at Point Pedro, local media reported. The two arrested officers are due to be produced before the Point Pedro Magistrate’s Court today (July 10). Police opened fire at a lorry carrying sand which did not heed to a Police order to stop in Manalkadu, Point Pedro yesterday (July 09). Police reports have confirmed that an individual had been killed as a result of the shooting. [ Full Report ]

Sri Lanka's military said Tuesday it has ended its occupation of a major fishing harbour after 27 years and allowed Tamil civilians in the former war zone to take back their land. Security forces withdrew from the Mayliddy harbour in the Jaffna peninsula on Monday, bowing to the long-standing demands of fishermen and their families from the minority Tamil community who have been living in camps for displaced people since June 1990. "Accordingly, 187 families... are able to return to their original lands and resume their fishing livelihood after an absence of nearly 30 years," the army said in a statement. [ Full Report ]

As far as EPRLF is concerned, we are definitely having differences with Mr. Sampanthan and the ITAK. There is a difference between what we promised to people and what we are doing now. That is more so in working out constitutional reforms and living up to the aspirations of Tamil people. There are differences between the ITAK and the EPRLF. Tamil people are against the ITAK as they could not deliver anything. For example, they could not complete the resettlement of the displaced. They could not address the issues related to missing persons. They could not do anything about political prisoners. They could not deliver on anything. People are disillusioned as a result. [ Full Report ]

The two ministers of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), found guilty by a three-member committee which investigated corruption allegations made against them had tendered their resignation. Education Minister Thambyrajah Gurukularajah tendered his resignation yesterday, while Agriculture Minister Ponnuthurai Ayngaranesan had reportedly handed over his resignation to the Chief Ministers office earlier. On Monday,Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Leader R.Sampanthan had told the group of Northern Provincial Council (NPC) members to withdraw the No-Confidence Motion submitted against Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran. [ Full Report ]

Fears have been expressed that, resulting from climate change, the Jaffna peninsula may become semi-desert in the not-too-distant future. It would be timely in this context for a team of agricultural scientists, industrialists and entrepreneurs to study this possibility and determine whether semi-desertification may, in fact, prove to be of great benefit to the people of Jaffna. They could study, for instance, the jojoba plantations in semi-deserts in the US and elsewhere. In the US, when the Native Americans (Red Indians) were finally put down, they were often given ‘reservations’ (‘traditional homelands’) in portions of the lands taken over by the government. These were often in inhospitable desert or semi-desert (‘unproductive’) regions. [ Full Report ]

Over 121, 000 persons from 33, 000 families in the Jaffna district have been severely affected by the prevailing drought situation, Jaffna District Secretary N. Vedanayagam said. According to the District Secretary, Kayts, Maradankaini, Karainagar, Sangilipaai, and Chelanai are among the places which have been severely affected by the drought. There are severe water shortages in Punkuduthivu and Mandathivu in Jaffna, with many water sources have already dried up. Many people have been forced to wait by the roadside hoping to collect some water. Action has been taken to provide people of these areas water with the aid of bowsers. [ Full Report ]

In June 1981, an organised mob, reportedly of Sinhalese persons, set fire to the building, destroying all that was thoughtfully collected for generations of Tamil youth. The incident delivered a major blow not just to the library, but to the dreams and aspirations it had nurtured. Some consider it a major provocation in the lead up to Sri Lanka’s civil war.After years of being situated at the heart of a conflict, the library has now become a venue for high-level meetings. During their visits to the north, UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former British PM David Cameron met Tamil leaders here. [ Full Report ]

A national reconciliation event to institutionalize National Integration and reconciliation into the Sunday religious schools teaching covering Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim religions was held in Jaffna last week with the partcipation of thousand religious teachers to introduce and institutionalize National Integration and Reconciliation concepts and principles to the Sunday school teaching "This programmes was well received by the Sunday school teachers and the District officials," said Mr. V.Sivagnanasothy, Secretary, Ministry of National Integration and Reconciliation. [ Full Report ]

Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to build an energy park of 1,040 MW of power in Punarin area in line with the government’s policy. Under this proposal, construction of a hybrid energy park consisting of 240 MW of wind power and 800 MW of solar power will be built in three stages. The construction will be carried out within 2 years, acquiring identified lands of 6,000 hectares in this area, under three phases. Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority has recognized northern area of the country as a suitable area to build wind power and solar power plants. [ Full Report ]

India have a geopolitical problem: the Chinese influence in the South Asian region. A regional airport and two harbours in the North and East - Kankensanthurai (KKS) and Mullaithivu on the north-eastern coast will be useful. At one stage, Mullaithivu catered to 1/3rd of the fishing needs of the entire island-nation. Reviving all these will be beneficial to India, Sri Lanka and the Tamils of the North and East. These were all there earlier and it would now help both countries if they were resuscitated. Bringing them back to life will not only help the Tamils of the North and East but also the Sri Lankan government in Colombo. [ Full Report ]

A ceremony commemorating the lives of those lost in the recent Meethotamulla garbage dump tragedy was held at Jaffna University today. The event was organized by the Arts Faculty Students Union. Dean of the Faculty and Students Union leader expressed condolences to those killed and lost their relatives in the tragedy. [ Full Report ]

Mix Palmyrah fruit pulp and wheat flour in proportionate quantities. Add a bit of sugar and salt for taste and a pinch of baking powder and mix well. Deep fry small globes of this saffron-hued mixture in oil. Offering freshly fried panangai paniyaram, a signature delicacy of the Hindu New Year table, for us to sample is Shanthakumar Kamaleshwari, Production Officer of the Palmyrah Development Board (PDB), joined by her able assistant Chitra, busy before a cauldron of hot oil and the tempting paniyaram mixture. [ Full Report ]

A Tamil man, 35-year-old Thiraviyam Naguleswaran from Vaddukkoaddai in Jaffna, was missing for the last 10 days. Three days ago, his wife received a phone call from him. He was being detained at Anuradhapura, the frightened husband told his wife from the custody of his abductors. Mr Thiraviyam asked his wife not to file any complaint with the SL Police and to avoid alerting any human rights watchdog or media. His abductors were investigating him and he would not be released if there was any complaint made to human rights groups, he had told. His wife refrained from complaining or alerting media. But, on Wednesday, the circumstance of a pending court case at Mallaakam courts has exposed the abduction. [ Full Report ]

Lyca is owned by a Sri Lankan Tamil, and its village has as many as 400 houses. It also happens to be producing Rajinikanth's next film, Enthiran 2.0. Rajinikanth along with North Province Chief Minister C. V. Vigneswaran and Opposition leader R. Sampanthan were supposed to attend the inauguration of the village. But it wasn't to be as the veteran actor called off his visit following protests by several groups in India.According to India Today, North Province chief minister Vigneswaran, too cancelled his visit to the village at the last minute. However, Opposition Leader Sampanthan was present for the inauguration. [ Full Report ]

The opening ceremony was graced by senior faculty members of Department of Computer Science at the University of Jaffna and Vavuniya Campus. In a speech, Dr. Thabotharan Kathiravelu, representing Faculty of Computer Science, University of Jaffna praised Microimage for their timing in opening an R&D center in Jaffna as it is the ideal opportunity for the students at the University to obtain a 6 month internships to learn the ropes in the industry. This also marks the second reputed software company to be in Jaffna, the first being WSO2 (though technically it’s a Middleware provider). [ Full Report ]

Few students in Vadamarachchi, part of Sri Lanka’s northern peninsula, had heard of Visual Basic until Sebastian Selvanayagi started offering a course in it at her modest computer centre. “Even basic programming languages haven’t come to our village in a big way,” she said, entering a small room in her home, in Vetrilaikeni in Vadamarachchi East, where five desktop computers are kept. “The LTTE took complete care of me after that. I stayed with them and did programming and data entry work. That became my world,” Ms. Selvanayagi, 42, said. [ Full Report ]

Mayor John Tory, Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37 Scarborough Centre), Chair of the Economic Development Committee, and Councillor Neethan Shan (Ward 42 Scarborough-Rouge River) will join a delegation of Toronto companies and organizations on a business mission to India and Sri Lanka from March 15 to 24. "We know there are opportunities to establish a bigger market for Toronto exports and attract more Indian companies to Toronto," said Mayor Tory. "Toronto already has an excellent reputation in India as a city that is welcoming to newcomers. Now we need to get out and sell the benefits of doing business here in Toronto." [ Full Report ]

A month after moving to Colombo to report for 'The Hindu', the author writes about her first trip to the Tamil-majority north. The first thing that struck me about Rajachandran was the way he spoke: pausing between words and raising his voice when he emphasised a point.He watched my face to make sure I followed what he was saying. There was no difficulty understanding him; even some of the unfamiliar Jaffna Tamil words were intelligible. Our first meeting was in May 2013, outside a fish auction centre in Karainagar, a small Sri Lankan island off Jaffna peninsula. Fishermen would bring their catch to the fisheries cooperative that Rajachandran led. [ Full Report ]

In 2010 the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a total loan facility of 130 million US dollars for the "Jaffna and Kilinochchi Water Supply and Sanitation Project". The local costs of 26 million dollars were to be met by the Government of Sri Lanka. The project involved providing safe drinking water for 300,000 people in Jaffna Town and surrounding areas and sanitation facilities for 80,000 people in Jaffna Town. The source of raw water was to be Iranamadu Tank in Kilinochchi. Water was to be pumped from here to a treatment plant near Pallai in the Jaffna Peninsula, and treated water distributed to consumers from there. [ Full Report ]

A large scale grant-based Sinhalese settlement will be built on public land in Naavatkuli, Jaffna, despite local opposition. 250 Sinhalese beneficiaries have been chosen to receive houses built on land owned by the National Housing Development Authority in Naavatkuli. After the end of the war, Sinhalese people had settled with temporary buildings in Naavatkuli, and were later granted land permit documents by the Rajapaksa government. The foundation stone for the scheme will be laid by housing minister Sajith Premadasa at the end of the month, and the project is expected to be completed within 6 months. [ Full Report ]

The Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority Northern Province, C.V.Wigneswaran, has refuted an allegation made by Muslim leaders, that his administration is discriminating against the Muslims in the matter of post-war resettlement. In a press statement issued on Tuesday, Wigneswaran said that among the 4307 families which had obtained lands between 2013 and 2016, 73.02 percent were Muslim, 25.66 percent were Tamil and 1.32 percent were Sinhalese. Up to December 2015, 26,668 Muslim families had applied for resettlement. Out of these 24,040 families were resettled and 2801 families remained to be settled. [ Full Report ]

“The government should implement without delay the pledges made regarding the Tamil people while entering into pacts,” said C. V. Wigneswaran, the Chief Minister of the Northern Province He made this statement at a media briefing which followed a meeting of the Tamil National Council held on Monday at the Jaffna Library. He said that, in 2009, the then President of Sri Lanka had made a promise to Ban Ki-moon that the government would undertake to ensure the welfare of the Tamil people in future. "It is good to examine whether the present government has honoured these pledges," he said. [ Full Report ]

Barely three months after the Ezhuga Thamil (‘Rise up Tamils’) rally in the North, which caused an uproar in political circles, arrangements are being made for holding a sequel thereto in the East. Although Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan and the TNA will not back the move, the TPC, which has Northern Chief Minister C. V. Wigneshwaran and Jaffna-based cardiologist P. Lakshman as co-chairs, has thrown its weight behind the organisers of "Ezhuga Thamil" rally in the East. Sources said they would decide on a date shortly. Political observers in the East said the TPC believed that only a full-fledged federal unit would help meet the aspirations of the Tamil people and any other arrangement would fall short of being a viable solution to the national question. [ Full Report ]

A month after the murder of two Tamil students belonging to the arts faculty, Jaffna University workers, the country-wide demonstrations of students and youth offer key political lessons. Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim students throughout the country jointly protested against the police murder. On October 20, Sri Lankan police had opened fire at Pawnraj Sulakshan and Nadarasa Gajan, who were riding a motorcycle, causing a fatal accident. Bullets were found in the chest and head of one victim; the other succumbed to internal injuries. [ Full Report ]

No one should entertain any fears about the Tamil National Alliance because it is not a party striving to divide the country, said TNA and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan in Jaffna on Sunday.Sampanthan said even though certain people in the south were somewhat reluctant to visit the north fearing a tense situation, they should visit the North without fear as there is no such problem. He said the TNA had no truck or connection whatsoever to certain unlawful acts taking place in the North today.Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Vigneswaran said he had to seek extra security from the government against threats to his life because he had been misreported by certain sections of the media. [ Full Report ]

Nestlé Lanka marked a new milestone in its local dairy development initiatives by opening another new milk chilling centre in Jaffna recently. The new milk chilling centre in Urumpirai, will enable the farmers in the area to preserve the quality and freshness of their milk, collecting only the excess amount after meeting the needs of the farming families. The new facility will be equipped with high quality testing equipment and farmers will be paid for the quality of milk they provide the higher the quality, the higher the price they will receive. This will encourage them to produce more milk of better quality. [ Full Report ]

“There is little evidence of improvement in people’s lives, and aggressive neo-liberal economic policies pushed through in the name of development and reconciliation are a matter of grave concern. There is no policy on resettlement and rehabilitation and the marginalised people are in a perpetual state of destitution; arbitrary arrests and disappearance are still not uncommon; and the experience of the people demonstrates that the post-war period is still entrenched in violence and the questionable conduct of those in governance and the armed forces,” the statement said. [ Full Report ]

Sri Lankan navy on Thursday arrested three fishermen on charges of smuggling heroin. Among them two have been identified as Thalvin Rajan and Levin from Thangachimadam in the district. Sri Lankan navy personnel attached to Sri Lankan naval station, Barana situated at Mullikulam in North Western Naval Command during their special operation intercepted a fishing craft at Arippu in Sri Lanka. They apprehended the three fishermen and seized 2 kg of heroin from their fishing craft. The arrested men, their fishing boat and heroin were handed over to Colombo police narcotics bureau officials for further investigation, Sri Lankan navy website said. [ Full Report ]

The Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Tamil-speaking Northern Province, C.V.Wigneswaran, has appealed to the people of the province, especially the youth, to be calm as they mourn the killing of two university students by the police. In a statement released from London, the Chief Minister said that while conveying his condolences to the bereaved families, he would appeal to the people not to express their anger and grief in ways which would have unpleasant consequences. Wigneswaran said that he would not comment on the incident before the court had given its verdict. All that he would say now is that the apparently, doctrine of using minimum force had not been observed by the police. [ Full Report ]

The final rites of Nadaraja Gajan - one of the two Jaffna university students who died in Kokkuvil, Jaffna, was conducted today. The funeral took place at Iranamadu public cemetery in Kilinochchi. The remains of the late student were brought from his residence at Baaradee-puram in Iranamadu to the public cemetery in a procession. It was reported that the A-9 road was obstructed for one hour, due to this reason. A large gathering participated in the funeral of the Jaffna university student including MPs and provincial councillors of TNA. [ Full Report ]

The police shooting and the killing of two Jaffna University students on Oct. 21 should be condemned strongly, and the blatant killers brought to justice without delay. By shooting at the heads of the motorcycle riders, it is very clear that what was done was more than to stop the vehicle – that objective could have been achieved by firing at the motorbike itself or its tyres. [ Full Report ]

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